Twenty reasons why I love you
by Elliewelly1
Summary: Title explains it all really! Sequel to Fifteen Danice moments, I guess :P Just little moments I write when I have serious writers block for my other fics. Please review and let me know what you think!
1. Reason One: You're Beautiful

**A/N: This is a little something that I didn't think I'd be starting for a while. But I've decided to do this for when I have writers block . (Which I have, today, and had yesterday, hence the lack of update) I hope you enjoy. These are easy to write because I don't have to follow one storyline. Yey.**

**I guess you could say this is the sequel to 'Fifteen Danice Moments' :P 'Cept in these Danice aren't together, in all of them… Maybe. : ) **

**I hope you like!**

* * *

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason One: You're beautiful**_

'_In a room full of people, you are always the first I look for.'_

Alice Collins headed towards Danny Trevanion, who was currently placing a recently operated on Goat into its pen. The goat, that is. Not Danny. Alice giggled at the thought of putting Danny in a pen. She wondered how he'd react.

Hearing a melodic laugh, Danny looked up, seeing Alice approaching him. Her naturally straight hair fell down her back, shimmering like a waterfall in the early African sunlight. Her sapphire blue eyes, of which Danny always lost himself in, twinkled with joy. That beautiful smile was plastered to her face, her whole face soft and friendly. She made her way over to him gracefully, looking overwhelmingly stunning.

"What are you giggling at, Miss Collins?" Danny asked curiously, finishing with the goat and standing up to full height.

Danny towered over her. But then again, he was a gentle giant, and she was a fiery dwarf, so their heights didn't exactly reflect their personalities.

"Well what do you think Mr Trevanion?" She asked in return, grinning, which caused Danny's breath to hitch.

"What do I think?" He repeated her words. Danny seemed to lose all coherent thought as he stood there, with her looking up at him, grinning dazzlingly. He smiled back at her automatically, "I think-"

"Alice?" Nomsa called from the veranda, "There is someone on the phone for you!"

"Oh, I best go get that." Alice told Danny, "Coming Nomsa!" She called, then turned and hurried towards Leopards Den.

Danny sighed, he'd lost another chance to tell her…

He watched her walk away, studying her gorgeous figure, the graceful way she walked. Then, he carried on his sentence, which had been cut off earlier.

Quietly, he said, "I think, that you're beautiful."

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**A/N: N'aww, poor Danny. Hehe. These aren't all going to be as long as my chapters usually are by the way, since these are mainly for fun or when I have writers block. But I hope you like them anyway.**

**Review? **


	2. Reason Two: You're Stubborn

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'**_

_**Reason Two: You're stubborn**_

'_Do I have to spell it out or scream it in your face?  
__The chemistry between us could __destroy __this place.'_

Why did she have to be so damn stubborn? He'd told her to be careful! But what did she do? She wasn't careful at all- she'd literally thrown herself at that Leopard!

"There, you're done." Danny said coldly as he finished stitching the wound on Alice's arm, trying to ignore the beautiful scent of her breath washing over his face as he worked.

"Thanks." She muttered, thought she knew he wasn't listening. He was too busy sulking, "Oh don't look like that Danny! I'm alive, aren't I? Along with the Leopard, all due to me. So you should be glad I'm even alive!"

Internally, Danny flinched. That was why he was sulking though, the fact that she could've been killed, all over a Leopard! Usually, Danny could never stay angry at Alice, but today was different. Her life was worth more than a Leopards! What if she had seriously injured herself? What if she had died? Danny didn't even want to think about it. What was he supposed to do without her? Okay, they weren't even together or anything. They were just friends- much to his disappointment. But he needed her like he needed oxygen to breathe. She had fixed him when he was at his lowest, and without her he wouldn't be able to live- he'd just simply exist…

"Yeah, and I told you to be careful, but you're just so god damned stubborn."

Alice sighed, frustrated, and stood up, "Well if you're gonna be like that!" She said, and began stalking off.

"Alice! You've just been attacked you shouldn't be storming around like that!" Danny called after her, worried for her health.

Alice looked over her shoulder at him, shooting him one of her dazzling smiles, "I'm fine, Danny! Stop being a Nag!" She protested stubbornly.

Danny chuckled to himself, knowing he wouldn't win that argument. "That's another thing." He mumbled to himself as he packed the equipment up, "You're stubborn."

**A/N: These are so contagious to write!**

**I was gonna actually write a proper update, but my parents are being gay and talking about me behind my back and then saying I have no social life, and that I'm only allowed on my laptop for a certain amount of time? Whatever.**


	3. Reason Three: You're Caring

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'**_

_**Reason Three: You're Caring**_

'_You always take my breath away'_

Danny breathed deeply, putting on a fake mask of… well, not happiness, just pretending to be normal. But how could he be normal on this day? It had been two years since he had lost his beloved wife, Sarah, in that horrible bush fire.

Everyone was unusually quiet today, and he knew why. Everyone was grieving for Sarah, especially Liv. Alice and Charlotte sat awkwardly at the table. They had never met Sarah. But from what they had heard she must have been a pretty impressive woman. After all, Danny had loved her, and Danny was amazing, it must have taken one amazing woman to deserve Danny.

Breakfast was eaten in silence and Charlotte and Alice made a quick escape. They felt pushed out of the family- but they knew it was nothing personal. It was because they hadn't known Sarah. Nothing more.

It took a while for Danny to enter the animal hospital, where Alice was. She could only guess that Danny had been talking to Evan and Liv, maybe Caroline too. Since at that moment, they all seemed to suddenly appear on the veranda. But Alice mainly focused on Danny, and watched him as he moved about the Animal Hospital, doing his chores in silence.

Finally, Alice mustered the courage to ask, "Are you okay, Danny?"

Danny looked up at her gentle face, noticing the caring look on Alice's face. For the first time today, Danny smiled. God, he was lucky to have her. "Yeah, thanks Alice."

Alice smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder as she passed him. She was surprised when Danny took hold of her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. She smiled to herself, and tried to ignore the fact that bubble of electricity were coursing through her veins at his touch. The man was grieving for his dead wife for gods sake!

"I mean it Alice, thank you." Danny said softly, glad she was behind him so she couldn't see the blush that was creeping onto his face, and Alice was in the same situation. "I honestly don't think I would've been able to get through these moments without you."

Alice felt her heart melt, and her throat went dry. Unable to say anything, they both stood there in silence, but it was a comforting silence. Not an awkward silence. But Danny had to keep fighting back the urge to press a kiss to her hand. He wasn't sure whether he'd see that he didn't like her simply as a friend. Though he was sure he was just being paranoid about the whole situation.

After a long silence, Alice said, "I'm not that amazing, but you're welcome."

Danny, obviously, didn't agree with this. Unable to refrain any longer, Danny tilted his head slightly and pressed a soft kiss to her hand. Alice fought back a gasp as her pulse sped at the touch of his gentle lips upon her skin, and shivers of electricity that shot down her spine.

"Oh but Alice look at you now." He whispered after, "You're caring."

**A/N: Would have had a proper update- had 600 words of My Best Friend, but then my mum came in and announced I had to be kicked off at half nine. **

**Fml. Writing is the one thing I enjoy and she wont even let me do that. **


	4. Reason Four: You're always there

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'**_

_**Reason Four: You're always there**_

'_If life is a song then love is the lyrics.' _

So they'd argued. Danny and Alice. The famous vet duo- well, not technically famous. And they hadn't spoke to each other since.

Okay, so it had been two hours since they'd argued. Maybe it was over something stupid, as Dupe called it, but Alice really needed to stop doting on the animals so much! She only ended up depressing herself when they had to release them! And, even though Danny would never admit it, he hated seeing her upset. If he could've kept the animals somehow, just to make her happy, he would. But he couldn't.

So Danny went alone to release the lion. He knew it was stupid, but he wasn't asking Alice to help, she'd probably get all emotional. In the end he managed to release the Lion, after much difficulty though, he found himself wishing he'd took Alice along.

On his way back Danny heard the radio crackling on the seat next to him. Quickly, he picked it up when he heard his name mentioned.

"Hello?"

"Danny!" Danny recognised the voice as Dupes, "You gotta go come quick man, I was on my way to fix the fence, but I found a mauled Zebra- She's in a bad way Trevanion."

"I'm on my way Dupe!" Danny told him, speeding up in the jeep to get there faster.

Dupe didn't miss the fact that Danny didn't ask for him to radio Alice for her help. Dupe sighed. They were just like stubborn children! And he thought that he was bad!

Danny arrived quicker than Dupe would've expected, but he wasted no time pondering on this fact. Instead he lead Danny to the Zebra. Danny knew down by the Zebra, it was a puzzle of scarlet wounds, and was breathing heavily, like there was no tomorrow. Danny sighed.

"How is she?" Dupe asked.

Danny looked up at his friend, sadness in his eyes. "She's lost too much blood, we need to get her to the animal hospital, but by the time we get her there… she'll… she'll be dead."

"Ach, no man." Dupe said softly behind him. He knew how attached to the animals Danny was.

"I don't like to do this, but…" Danny trailed off, sadly reaching out a hand for Dupe's gun.

Dupe passed him the gun without protesting or asking if he should do it instead. He watched his friend shoot the animal, and they were both silent as the sound of the bullet resounded through the trees. Danny didn't move the Zebra, he knew a Lion or another predator would find it eventually. There was no point hiding it.

Dupe let his friend walk away and watched as he switched on the ignition of the jeep and drive away, dust splaying in the air in it's own little tornados as he did so.

Danny wondered, as he journeyed back to Leopards Den, how the events of today would have turned out if he had taken Alice along, probably better. Alice made everything better. Danny sighed. God, that woman made it so damn hard to stay angry.

Alice watched silently from the Animal Hospital as Danny drove up outside Leopards Den. His posture was slightly hunched over, he looked rather sad. Although Alice was supposed to be angry at him for not listening to her, she found herself ambling after Danny, who ended up locking himself away in his room.

Alice knocked timidly on the door, "Danny?" She asked softly, "Danny, can I come in?"

Danny listened from the inside, his head telling him to say no. For starters, he was supposed to be angry at her, and he didn't want her to see him like this. What would she think of him? But his heart was telling him to say yes. Alice always lifted his spirits. So why not?

Eventually, Danny decided to listen to his heart.

"Yeah, come in." He answered quietly.

Alice let herself in straight away, closing the door behind her. She felt her heard melt a little when she saw him sitting there sadly. It didn't look right to see Danny looking so sad. That wasn't the Danny she knew.

"Danny?" She asked gently, sitting down next to him, on his bed. "What's wrong? Is it the Lion?"

Danny shook his head, "No." He said, "It's not that it's… Dupe radioed me, there was a Zebra. I couldn't save her. I had to put her down."

Danny looked away and Alice reached out and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's not your fault Danny. These things happen."

"But what if I had listened to you?" Danny countered, "What if I had released the Lion later, got to the Zebra quicker? What if I hadn't been childish and radioed for you? You might have been able to think of something that I hadn't!"

"Danny," She said softly, the Scottish waves of her voice making his name sound special, "If you hadn't released the Lion, you would've been stuck here. It would have taken you longer to get to her, therefore she would've been in more pain." Alice reassured him, "And as for taking me along? Don't worry, I would have done the same and if you couldn't have thought of anything, there's not way I'd be able to!"

Danny looked up into her sapphire eyes and saw she was telling the genuine truth, "You think?"

"No, I know so!" She said, grinning. "Now c'mon, shift your butt, Nomsa says dinner is ready!" Alice told him, and strode over to the door, opening it.

Danny smiled, "You're always there." He thought aloud.

Which, of course, caused Alice to blush.

**A/N: I know what you're thinking- if Ellie had time to write this why not another fic? But the truth is I wrote this a couple days ago, for back-up incase I never got to write one day. Which happens to be today. I've been really busy, I've been out with my friends till like 9, and been sorting out stuff about my boyfriend- (yes chloe, free hug boy ;) haha)- anyway, it was confusing. And my mums being gay again. **

**Anyway, hope you like! **


	5. Reason Five: You Fixed Me

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'**_

_**Reason Five: You fixed me**_

'_When I listen to my heart it whispers your name.'_

There were a lot of things Sarah Trevanion had been. She had been funny, pretty, caring, smart. She could be angry, stubborn, annoying and frustrating. She had been loved and she had loved, she had helped him so much in his life, she had fixed him after Miranda, she had been there for him through a lot of tough times in his life, she had put up with his daughter Rosie even though she hated her. She had nagged, she had bored him, and she had annoyed him, sometimes she hadn't understood him, his passion to this animals, to his job. But overall there was more things important than these little details.

Sarah Trevanion had lived.

But all she was now was dead.

And of course Danny Trevanion had loved her. With a love that would forever remain. But that was where Alice fit into the equation. She, like Sarah had done after Miranda, had come along and fixed him. Every piece of his tattered heart that he couldn't be bothered to fix had been patiently picked up and super glued back into place by her, Alice Collins. And part of his heart had been lost forever, owned by Sarah, and in replacement, Alice had filled in that little gap with a piece of her own heart.

Alice wasn't his type. Fiery, Stubborn, Independent, Dark-Haired, Blue-Eyed, no that wasn't his type at all. Blondes, Caring- and not so mysterious. But there was something about Alice Collins. She may be Fiery, Stubborn and Independent, but that didn't mean she wasn't nice. God no, she was amazing. She was sympathetic, kind, she understood him, and she shared his passion with the animals, she was patient, and she didn't annoy him. She was beautiful and funny, she could never fail to bring a smile to his face, and she was extremely intelligent.

And somewhere along the line Danny Trevanion had fallen in love with her. He wasn't quite sure when. It was a gradual process. He wasn't sure how he knew. One day he realised he just _was _in love with her. Admitting it to himself was hard enough, but telling her? Why would someone so amazing, so perfect, want an old, annoying, broken man like him? Not that he was broken anymore actually, she had fixed him… He was so eternally grateful for that. It took someone special to fix someone. Like soul mates. Even Danny's best friend, or his daughter, or his stepchildren could fix him.

But then Alice had come bounding into his life, charging through the grey clouds and rain that had hazed his mind everyday, towing with her a ray of sunshine. And with a mixture of his ran and her ray of sun, she had created a rainbow.

How could he not fall for that?

"_Damn you Alice Collins." _He whispered, so quietly even he could barely hear himself. But the words were not spoken with dislike or malice, they were spoke with a fondness and a soft voice. It was evident to see he didn't mean these words in a nasty sense. It was evident to see, that Danny Trevanion was in love with her. Because she had fixed him.

When he thought life was not worth living.

But she was his reason to breathe now.

**A/N: Short update because my laptop charger is being awkward, I've been busy all day kayaking, problem solving, doing high ropes, getting my hair dyed, and having to put up with these bloody stomach cramps(Damn being a woman!) So that's why I had to do this :/ Sorry dudettes!**


	6. Reason Six: You're amazing

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'**_

_**Reason Six: You're amazing**_

'_And I don't want to be your life.  
I just want to be your favourite part.'_

Alice smiled at him over the table as they ate. Sadly, it wasn't just himself and her. No, that only happened in his dreams. In his dreams she loved him, too. But that would never happen. No, they were just friends- much to his disappointment, actually- and they were eating dinner with the rest of Leopards Den, as usual.

Dinner was eaten as quick as usual and the conversation flowed easily. Danny, as usual, tried not to stare at Alice too much. But he couldn't help it. Those glittery dark-blue eyes always drew him in. The swish of her dark brown locks. The cheekiness of that grin. How could anyone draw their eyes away from that? He didn't understand how any man could ever _not _love Alice. Not just because of her looks- even though she was gorgeous- just for her personality. Just for being her.

Alice was feisty, strong, hardworking, an amazing vet, the most amazing friend he'd ever had. She was caring, loyal, fiery, an amazing mother. God, he could go on for ages. Years upon years. He could go on for the rest of his life. Even longer than that. Infinity. Yes, he could go on about what made Alice Collins so special to him forever and longer.

But he didn't have forever and longer, and he didn't have anyone to tell it to. He couldn't exactly waltz up to her and tell her how he felt. He could just imagine the sting of rejection and the embarrassment. He could just imagine how awkward things would be between them after. She would never love him like he loved her, would he? What would she ever seen in him? She deserved so much better.

"What?" Alice asked him self-consciously as everyone cleared from the table. Danny blinked.

"What?" He asked in return, causing Alice to giggle.

"It's just- I dunno," Alice looked slightly awkward, "You were watching me."

_That's because you're… amazing. _

"I was?" He feigned innocence.

She smiled shyly, "Yeah, you were."

Danny shrugged, "Sorry, I didn't realise."

Alice stopped just as they were walking into Leopards Den, and he stopped with her, raising an eyebrow. His eyes darted around and he saw that nobody else was around, and then his eyes settled back down on Alice. Her eyes, there was something about them, there was something in them that he couldn't figure out. And what was she pulling that face for? She looked… Anxious? Nervous? Pleading?

"It's okay." She finally said in a small voice, "I kinda liked it."

And then with that, she blushed and walked away, leaving Danny staring after her in complete shock.

**-xoxo-**

**A/N: It's short, I know. But my mum tidied my room(WHY? GRR) and lost my notepad with the reasons in it for this fic ¬_¬ and I can't remember all of them. So I just went with the one in my head but I was watching stuff, reading stuff, talking to people(well, Chloe. She seems to be the only person who can put up with me atm! Go chloe!) and trying to find my notepad¬_¬**

**Anyway, three updates from me in one day: You lucky buggers, eh? ;) **


	7. Reason Seven: You confuse me, but

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason Seven: You confuse me, but I don't mind**_

'_Whenever you talk to me I get this:  
__OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG __feeling.'_

Danny's mind was a buzz of questions. _What did she mean by she 'kinda liked' it? She liked being stared at? But what does that mean? Does it mean that I have a chance with her?- No, don't be stupid… But what logical explanation would explain why she had said that? What did she __**mean?**_

Danny took a deep breath and shook his head. He had just completely zoned out. He was supposed to be doing the paperwork that importantly needed filling out by tonight and Danny had absolutely no idea how he was going to get it all done! First of all, it was hard. Second, usually it was Alice that did it. Third, he couldn't stop replaying that scene from two nights ago. Her voice kept replaying over and over in his head. _"It's okay. I kinda liked it." _Did that mean that she felt the same way?

No. He had to stop getting his hopes up. There was no point in getting his hopes up and imagining that there was something between them and she might possibly feel the same way too, when there was no chance in hell of that happening. Alice didn't want him. Why would she? She wanted people like Terry. Young. Handsome. A lot more well off than he was, for sure.

Basically, she just wanted the complete opposite of him, right?

Danny sighed and tried-and failed- to concentrate on the paperwork that Alice normally did. _Alice… _God, she'd taken his breath away today. A lot more than usually. She'd been happy for no reason, not that that was an unusual sight, but still. There was something about her. She seemed more relaxed. And she was full of colour, warmth. Her blue eyes had been such a vivid shade of cobalt, her cheeks had flushed whenever he looked over at her, and she was always showing off them pearly whites when she grinned.

Danny swallowed. This wasn't good. This unrequited love was unhealthy. He needed to stop thinking about her so much. He kept analysing every little thing she did. Hoping that maybe there was a sign in her actions that maybe she felt the same way too. But he would never find one. And if he did he would always mark it as getting his hopes too high. Like when she said she liked him staring at her- he had made sure he had averted his eyes at last nights dinner, he was embarrassed she'd caught him out- what would she mean by that though? Surely…

He heard the sound of footsteps. He recognised those footsteps. Light and quick. He turned and felt his breath knocked out of him as he saw Alice. Her dark brown hair was worn down casually, her face was clear of make-up, she was also just in a pair of jogging bottoms, a white vest and her usual boots. She looked natural. He didn't think she'd ever looked more beautiful.

"Danny?" She asked, rubbing one eye sleepily and glancing at the clock, "What are you still doing down here?"

"Finishing this paperwork." He mumbled, not looking her in the eye, and looked down at his feet.

If Danny had looked at her then, he would have noticed the pain that reflected upon her expression. Not only in her eyes, her whole expression. Alice swallowed. She really regretted telling Danny that she didn't mind him looking at her. What had possessed her to tell him she would never know. Ever since then he had barely looked at her and moments had always been awkward. Alice swallowed back a sob- god, she couldn't believe she was reacting this way. What had she been expecting? Danny to leap with joy and proclaim he loved her? She stifled a snort. Like that would ever happen.

"Why don't you leave it 'till the morning?"

"Needs to be done and posted by tonight."

"Right." Alice said, blinking away the tears of rejection. Danny never used to push her away like that. "Do you want me to-"

"Go to bed. It's late, Alice."

Alice nodded slowly, "Right, okay, if you're sure." She muttered, turning away, "Night, Danny."

"Night." He answered.

Alice left the animal hospital, leaving him alone once again. Danny sighed, frustrated. But he told himself he had done the right thing. Distancing himself from her might help. He closed his eyes and rest his head in his hands. No, he knew that wasn't the right way to go- he'd just mucked everything up. Again. Damn it.

"You _idiot." _He cried out, grabbing the pen and tossing it as far as it could go. But it didn't help him release any anger. Not at all.

**A/N: May not update for a few days. I'm swapping my sister for my step cousin(oh happy days! Really!) so I may not write.  
****Hmm. I can't think of anything to say. I has nothing to declare- unless you're interested that I've been munching on onions for the past couple hours? :\ ****Review pwease? : P **


	8. Reason Eight: You keep me on my toes

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason Eight: You keep me on my toes**_

'_Am I ever going to be good enough for you?'_

He honestly didn't know why he acted the way he did sometimes. Everything was just getting on top of him at the moment. Work, his actions, Alice… It had been a week since that encounter in the animal hospital. Things hadn't really been the same between them. Danny couldn't believe the way things had turned out. One week and two days ago, Alice had admitted that she liked him watching her. One week ago, Danny had been so confused that he pushed her away. And now, well, lord knows what's actually going on. They were speaking civilly. And, although nothing had been said, there had been no argument and no harsh words exchanged, it felt that way. There was a cold atmosphere now.

Danny tossed and turned in his bed. His alarm wasn't due to go off for another hour and he felt no need to get up now. Nomsa was up. Maybe even Georgina. But not the woman he so desperately wanted to see; Alice. Not that that would be a pleasant experience. It would be a small smile and a twinkle of an emotion he didn't recognise in her eyes, her poker face on and then she'd look away. He was lucky she spoke to him. But she never _looked _at him.

Sighing, Danny threw back the covers but made no attempt to get up. Why did she do this to him? Did she do it on purpose? Was that what it was? Did she get some sort of enjoyment out of confusing him? Leaving him on his toes- the edge of his seat? Danny rolled over and groaned into the pillow- no, now he was just stereotyping her. Alice wasn't like that.

With another heavy sigh, Danny sat up out of bed and shuffled towards the door, stopping when he realised he wasn't dressed. Not caring- he wasn't supposed to be up for another hour anyway- he turned the handle of his door and stepped out into the empty hallway. He closed the door behind him quietly, hoping not to wake anyone, the walls of Leopards Den were very thin.

There was somebody bustling about in the kitchen. Danny wondered what Nomsa would be doing there at such an early hour. There would be no need to make breakfast since nobody else was up, and she would hardly be making it for herself because she usually always ate with them all. Frowning, Danny padded into the kitchen, his eyes heavy-lidded with sleep. Danny froze when he saw who was actually in the kitchen.

It most definitely was not Nomsa. Nope, it was Alice.

Alice turned from the toaster and saw him, immediately stumbling over her two feet and dropping her plate of toast she'd just made. The plate hit the ground with a loud _smash _and divided into many little sharp shards, flying across the kitchen in all directions. Alice blushed, met his eyes, and then stared at the shattered plate for a minute.

"Crap." She muttered, and began clearing it up.

"Hey, not with your hands, might cut yourself." Danny warned her, grabbing the dustpan and brush from under the sink.

"Right. Thanks." Alice mumbled, looking down at the floor as she spoke.

They were silent as Alice brushed up the shards of china from the floor. She knelt down as she worked, finding it easier. Her long dark brown hair swooped across her shoulder and hid her face as she worked, so Danny had no idea how she was feeling. Then again, she would probably put her poker face on again anyway. So, stifling a sigh, Danny reached down and grabbed the two buttery slices of Toast that Alice had made, and tossed them in the bin. Even though he'd told her not to clean up with her hands- for her own safety, of course, he didn't want her to get hurt- he picked up pieces of china gingerly, of which she had missed.

Alice exhaled lowly when they had finished, sitting back and leaning her head against the cabinet for a moment, head down so that her blanket of long hair hid her face, so he wouldn't see her blushing. God dammit, why did he make her act this way? So clumsy and nervous. She hated it. She hated it so much and was getting sick and tired of it. Damn Danny. Damn her. Damn Love. Damn everything!

"You want me to put that in the bin?" Danny asked, wondering why Alice had chose to hiding under her hair for the next thirty seconds, completely silent after just clearing the mess.

Alice's eyes snapped open and, when she was sure her blush had gone, she tucked her stray hair behind her ear, smiling softly, staring at his forehead, never his eyes. Not those gorgeous eyes…

"No, sorry, zoned out there." She told him truthfully, before standing up to throw the remains of the plate in the bin.

Danny sat down in one of the seats, fingers drumming on the hard, wooden surface of the table, "Didn't expect to see you awake."

"Ditto." Alice returned, turning to the toaster, then sighing and flopping down in one of the chairs.

"I couldn't sleep." Danny explained.

For the first time in a week, Alice met his eyes, "Neither could I."

* * *

**A/N: I've written this, after having no sleep. I fell asleep at 6am yesterday, and awoke at 2pm. Now, the next day, it is now half ten in the morning, and I haven't been to sleep. So I apologize for it's rubbishness. ****I wasn't going to write, but I had nothing to do since my cousin chose to fall asleep on me, I had watched all the Keeley Hawes interviews I could find and read all the fanfictions I could be bothered too, and wasted my life on tumblr, so I chose to write. **

**It's not good, because my brain's all over the place from lack of sleep(and food) but I physically cannot be bothered to sleep? **

**Meh. **


	9. Reason Nine: You're Cute

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason Nine: You're Cute**_

'_The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and therefore should be treated with great caution'  
- Albus Dumbledore_

He studied her as she scrunched her nose up as she tilted her head to the side and smiled as the tiny baby jackal pup which she held in her hands stared up at her. Alice's sapphire blue eyes gleamed with happiness, and he knew it was because she was proud that she had saved another life, another animal, another achievement. She was an amazing vet, he had to admit it, though sometimes her beauty did get in the way of him working. He'd struggle to focus if her hand would accidentally brush his during surgery, if he saw her smile, or her voice floated through his concentration. He couldn't help it.

But right now he had nothing to focus on as Alice lifted the jackal pup, grinning away to herself like a maniac and skipping(not literally! But she did have a slight spring to her step) off to place the jackal in one of the pens. So he watched her. He watched her as she walked away, her smiled glued to her face, her blue eyes shining, her hair bouncing with each step she took, and just looking generally amazing. He was glad they were back to normal now. They were friends, again. Well, not that they hadn't been friends before, but, well… He couldn't explain it.

He tried not to watch her as much anymore. He wasn't sure whether that would be a good idea or not. Look what it had brought on last time. Saying that, he still hadn't figured out what she had actually meant by kinda enjoying him watching her. But he chose not to dwell on it anymore. It had only drove them apart, and he didn't want to go back there.

Alice couldn't keep the smile off her face as she flounced away from Danny, who had gone quiet all of a sudden, not even bothering to tidy away the equipment- typical man- and occasionally murmured soft words into the jackal pups ear. She couldn't help it, it was so damn cute!

_Like Danny._

_NO Alice, do NOT go there. You know what happened last time you tried to imply that you felt a little bit more than 'just friends'._

But she couldn't help it. Just like that smile. Of course, he'd think it was over them helping the tiny little jackal pup that she just found so overbearingly cute, which, well, it wasn't. Well, don't get her wrong, of course she was glad about that. Why wouldn't she? She was proud of that. Every vet was. The feeling you got when you had saved or improved an animal's life was so amazing that literally nothing else could compete to it.

But, no, it wasn't that… of course it wasn't that.

_He was watching her again.  
_

**A/N: Agh. I hate having no laptop *sobs* I feel like I've had a limb chopped off. My life has no meaning. At all. End my life. laptop was working for a while earlierXD and then my charger's gone funny again. So I wrote this & stole my sisters laptop(literally. She's sleeping) to write this up. And then I'm gonna have to return it to her and return to the land of the no-meaning-of-life-and-actually-doing-homework-and-tidying-my-room-and-talking-to-my-mum. Yes. My life has been reduced to that. It's so sad. ****Oh yeah, what with HP coming out in a few months, I've gone into full HP-Nerd mode again- I usually do that whenever a new film for it's coming out. Hence the reason I've been using Albus Dumbledore quotes lately. 'Cause Dumbledore knows where it's at!**

_**YO MAMMA'S SO FAT HER PATRONUS IS A CAKE!**_

**Teehee. I saw that on tumblr ages ago, and still haven't got over fic is supposed to be mainly Danny's POV, but… I couldn't resist doing it like this:D**

**Oh god, I swear this AN Is longer than the bloody update! Bye**_!_


	10. Reason Ten: You're unbelievable

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason Ten: You're unbelievable **_

'_Though the sun is gone, I have a light.'  
- Kurt Cobain._

It was one of them days. Hot, exhausting and uncomfortably sticky days. There were no more appointments for the rest of the day in the animal hospital and this meant that Danny and Alice could relax. Well, that's what Danny thought as they both sat out on the veranda, picking at the remains of a cake that Nomsa had made. They sat there joking and laughing and Danny was enjoying the twinkle in her eye every time she smiled and laughed. It made him feel whole, to see her happy. That was all he wanted after all, he didn't care much for his own happiness, as long as she was happy, that was fine.

"Danny, you've got a crumb on your face, and you're staring at me like a mindless goldfish." Alice laughed nervously.

"What? Sorry…Where's the crumb?"

Alice rolled her eyes and leaned forward, brushing the stray crumb from the side of his mouth. Danny was sure that her palm stayed on his cheek for much longer than necessary, as well as the thumb that stroked his cheek. But as quickly as she leaned forward she moved away again, seemingly a little flustered. She cleared her throat and looked down at her feet, and Danny reached out for the last remains of the cake.

"You want this?" Danny offered it to her.

"Oh, no, I'm fine." Was she blushing?

He shrugged, "Your loss!" He teased, before throwing the cake into his mouth and grinning at her.

She looked up and laughed, that same twinkling in her beautiful blue eyes, and playfully hit him around the arm. "Hey, I wanted that!"

"Sure you did!"

Alice grinned, and it seemed a little mischievous to him, "Oh, I'll be right back!" She said, before leaping out of her seat and speeding into Leopards Den, leaving Danny more than a little befuddled.

Danny raised his eyebrows in confusion and laughed. She really was a bit odd sometimes. Danny looked out, up at the sky, a cloudless blue, the only thing in the sky the bright orange star that they all called the sun. The sun that brightened up the world. As cliché as it sounded, Alice was like the sun. The sun to him, anyway. She brightened up his world simply by existing, there was no other way to explain it. And during the night all he could think about was getting up in the morning to see her again. Yeah, just like the sun. Alice was the sun.

And then all of a sudden Danny found himself immersed in freezing cold water. With a surprised yell, Danny staggered to his feet, shaking. Quickly, he spun around to find a mischievous looking Alice standing there, holding a bucket that had clearly contained the water he had found himself covered in.

"Now, THAT is for taking the piece of cake I wanted!" She announced, before grinning and running off.

Danny stared after her for a moment in complete shock, the freezing cold water slowing his brain down, and then laughed to himself and started walking away, his shoes squelching with every step.

"Unbelievable." He muttered softly.


	11. Reason Eleven: You're secretive

'_**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You.'  
**__**Reason Eleven: You're secretive**_

'_And he looks at me… and he looks right through me. And it shouldn't kill me, but it does.'  
- River Song, Doctor Who_

The moon was full as it hung in the night sky, the sky devoid of anything but its light. It shone down upon those at Leopards Den, celebrating Nomsa's birthday. For once, the housemaid wasn't doing anything, and had her feet up, laughing with Caroline. Dupe handled the barbecue, and Georgina was fussing around with drinks. Fatani, Buhkle, Vanessa, Rowan, Liv, Evan, Cashile and Charlotte were all dancing on the piece of land in front of Leopards Den, to the soft music that sung from the speakers.

Danny sat upon the front steps of Leopards Den, resting his elbow on his knee and his head in one hand, sighing into a bottle of beer. He'd watched her, Alice, as she silently moved about. She seemed to fade into the background tonight, to the others, at least. He was still aware of her, though, watching every step. For a while she had mucked about with Charlotte until Charlotte had latched onto Evan and Liv, and then she'd chatted with Nomsa and Caroline until she had nothing more to say to them, then she had tried to help out Georgina, but Georgina liked to do things her way, of course! Then, obviously, she wasn't going to help out on the barbecue- Dupe had that covered!

So now he watched her as she stood on the opposite side of the veranda to Caroline and Nomsa, completely separate to everyone. She leaned on the fence with both elbows, staring up at the sky, and her tousled black hair tumbled down her back gorgeously and her long blue dress flowed slightly in the evening breeze. He couldn't see her face, though he was sure that her beautiful baby blue eyes had the night sky reflecting in them.

Danny stood and placed the bottle of beer on the nearest surface and walked over to her. She didn't hear him, he guessed, or just chose to ignore him. He stopped beside her and stared up at the big moon with her.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing." She sighed, "Just thinking."

He smiled, "What about?"

He looked down at her then, and he meant _really_ looked at her.

She looked sad.

"Nothing important." She said, shrugging, still gazing up at the moon. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"What is?" He asked guardedly.

"The moon." She answered, nodding towards it, but her eyes never leaving that big round circle in the sky.

_Not as beautiful as you. _"Yeah, I guess so."

She smiled slightly, a quick quirk of the side of her lips, but it disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

"D'you want to dance, Alice?" He asked suddenly, he had no idea why.

She looked up, slightly shocked, "Dance?" She squeaked, and he nodded, "Oh! Erm… " Was she blushing? Oh god, he'd pushed it too far. As if she'd want to dance with him! Danny swallowed back the sadness that rose in him.

"I mean, with all the others." He stumbled over his words, embarrassed.

Alice looked away straight away and looked up, back at the moon, "Maybe later." She said stiffly.

He frowned, "Alice-"

"Just, leave it, Danny." She said, "I want to be alone right now, okay?"

The last words were spoke with such malice that he quickly moved away, retreating back to the steps. Then he grabbed the bottle of beer he'd let on the side, and sat back down on the steps.

And even though she wanted to be alone, he followed her with his eyes for the rest of the night, no matter whether she cared that he was there for her or not.

**A/N: The quote is just too cute, right? *sobs* - especially if you know the story behind it- Though imagine it's 'she' because this is all Danny's POV obviously : ) Review? That would be nice. **


	12. Reason Twelve: You notice me

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You  
Reason Twelve: You Notice Me**

_'When I said I loved you, I lied.  
I should've said that you mean the world to me and I could never let you go. That words cannot describe you.  
But the only thing that could slip out of my mouth was I love you.'_

Alice paced restlessly around her room. She'd been really snappy with Danny lately, she knew that. Especially last night, when he'd asked her to dance. But she couldn't help it. he was so infuriating! Didn't he **see **that she was upset? Or didn't he care? She thought that maybe he cared for her a little. They were close friends, after all. But obviously not. Well, maybe... he had seem concerned before she'd snapped at him. But he'd asked her to dance, and just the thought had increased her happiness considerably, but then he'd put her down again, saying that it was just because everyone else was dancing. And then she'd been horrible to him, because he had made her feel so small. But she had thought... she could've sworn that... there was something **there **when he'd asked.

There was a small knock on her door and she stopped pacing, "Who is it?"

"S'me."

Danny.

"Come in." She said quietly, not sure whether she was ready to face him or not, she still felt confused about everything.

The door opened and Danny emerged, shutting the door quietly behind him. He shuffled on his feet nervously, and she had no idea why he seemed so nervous. He swallowed and looked around nervously. God, what was he supposed to say? _Hi Alice, I've been stalking you with my eyes, and you look really sad, how can I help? _Yeah, because that would just go down a treat! He could just imagine her face already!

Danny swallowed, "I uh..."

Alice raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?" _Keep calm, Alice. It's not his fault. He's a man. They never notice anything._

Danny sighed, "Stuff it, I'll just come out with it... Right, Alice, it's just... Somethings troubling you. I noticed. And, you'e been snappy with me recently, and I just wondered whether it was me, if i'd done something. And if it was me, I'm sorry. For whatever I've done. If I've done anything, I mean. You know I'd never want to hurt you, Alice. You're like, my best friend, as childish as that sounds and I-"

Suddenly Danny was cut off when Alice leapt forward and covered his mouth with her hand. She was smiling. That was a good sign. He stayed quiet and didn't protest, even though the smell of her was invading his nostrils and he was finding it hard to stop himself to grab her and kiss the life out of her!

"You wonderful, wonderful man!" Alice whispered, grinning, "I can't believe you thought it was you- let alone that you noticed..."

Alice removed her hand from Danny's mouth and he said, "Er, what?"

Alice smiled, but her eyes were filling with tears, "My mum she er... she died twenty years ago yesterday."

Danny opened his mouth to speak but he had no idea what to say. What did you say? Sorry? Why? It's not like it's your fault! It's (mostly) not anybody's fault. He stared wordlessly at her for a moment, unable to say anything as a few tears trickled down her flawless face, and then suddenly engulfed her in a hug. He held her tight, wanting to comfort her as much as he could. She flung her arms around him in return, trying to hold him as close to her as she could, too. She buried her face in his chest, feeling warmth spread throughout her body as he held him close to her. He didn't need to say anything right now, actions spoke louder than words.

"I love you." She whispered into his chest.

"What?" Danny asked, not hearing what she had said.

Alice pulled away, and grabbed his hands, squeezing them softly, "Nothing." She told him. "Thank you, Danny."

**A/N: I've given up on trying to keep this mainly Danny POV you know. Profiter! Si vous pouvez... je ne sais pas! (blame chloe, we was talking in french when i started writing this!)  
I dont know why, but I want to dedicate this chapter to my friend Anna. She ain't gonna see this, but I wish I could hug her. Her granddad died on thursday and she's been pretty depressed since then. And we're not the closest of people, but I just want to hug her and make her all better, cause it's killing my best friend to see her like this because they're really close. And it's killing me to see my best friend so sad. I just want to hug everyone really.**


	13. Reason Thirteen: You make me feel warm

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You  
Reason Thirteen: You make me feel warm**

_'Wouldn't it be the perfect crime if i stole your heart and you stole mine?'_

This time, they did dance. Their hands clasped to one side, one of her hands resting upon his shoulder, one of his hands wound around her waist, sending tingles through her that refused to go away. The danced was fast and upbeat and they had a hard time keeping up, but they didn't care what people thought, after all Dupe was no judge! She giggled at his concentrated face as he struggled to not step on her feet. Which he failed at a lot. She couldn't keep her laughter contained, even when he did seem to be slightly offended. So she buried her face in his chest and in not even a whisper she repeated, "I love you." Over and over.

They spun around the make-shift Leopards Den dancefloor as the moon hung in the sky and poured it's light down on them in a romantic way. Others spun around too, laughing and not able to keep up with the music, either. Beside Rowan and Vanessa, who spun around flawlessly on the dancefloor. Though Vanessa was struggling to keep up with Rowan. Alice would've been suprised with Rowans dancing skills, if she had been able to see them or even concentrate on anything besides how Danny's body fitted perfectly with her own, how it felt like there was nobody else in the room, how his smell was intoxicating her and making her dizzy, how it felt just so right for it to just be them two... Danny and Alice. Together.

"Still laughing Miss Chuckles?" Danny asked, wondering why Alice still had her head resting upon his chest even though it didn't feel like she was laughing anymore.

Alice felt the rumble in his chest as he spoke and smiled. She looked up at him, and pretended to be oblivious to how his breath seemed to catch as she smiled at him. "No." She told him honestly.

And then softer she whispered, "Just enjoying the moment."

**A/N: These are supposed to be short:') I'm not being lazy or anything- and I promise, Chloe, that I gave Danny his hearing aid back, honest, I did just for you. Not my fault(a). Alice just didn't say it loud enough, okay?**


	14. Reason Fourteen: You make me feel hot

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You  
Reason Fourteen: You make me feel hot and cold at the same time.**

_'People haven't always been there for me, but music has.'  
- Taylor Swift_

It was stupid, she knew that. It was stupid to think that, maybe, he might have any kind of feelings toward her.

It was stupid, he knew that. It was stupid to think that, maybe, she might have any kind of feelings toward him.

But she couldn't help it, it was all she thought about when she went to bed at night, and all she dreamt of the whole night.

But he couldn't help it, it was all he thought about when he went to bed at night and all he dreamt of the whole night.

And all she could dream of was that same dream that came in many different versions, where it was just her and him, together.

And all he could dream of was that same dream that came in many different versions, where it was just him and her, together.

That would often send her off to sleep, happy and content, with a smile tugging on the corners of her lips, even though she wanted to cry because she knew it was just a dream.

That would often send him to sleep, happy and content, with a smile tugging on the corners of his lips, even though he wanted to cry because he knew it was just a dream.

All it ever would be, she knew, a dream.

All it ever would be, he knew, a dream.

But she carried on, like nothing was wrong, even though sometimes it felt like every part of her was breaking.

But he carried on, like nothing was wrong, even though sometimes it felt like every part of him was breaking.

She knew it was a teenager thing to do, but she listened to music, she could relate so much to music.

He knew it was a teenager thing to do, but he listened to music, he could relate so much to music.

It soothed her, to know that she wasn't the only one who suffered such heartbreak over unrequited love.

It soothed him, to know that he wasn't the only one who suffered such heartbreak over unrequited love.

Only then could she carry on, knowing she wasn't the only one.

Only then could he carry on, knowing he wasn't the only one.

So until maybe she would admit she loved Danny, her love remained unknown to him.

And so maybe he would admit he loved Alice, his love remained unknown to her.

**A/N: Just thought I owe you an explanation cause my updates are going to be quite slow, i think. Anyone heard of NaNoWriMo? National novel writing month? The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month (November 1st-30th) & I signed up for it. I dunno, i must be crazy! **


	15. Reason Fifteen: You're a bloody good

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You  
Reason Fifteen: You're a bloody good kisser**

___'It wasn't love at first sight. It was a slow burn. It started as just a feeling, and then very suddenly, at the end of it all, I realised I'd fallen in love with him.  
- Keeley Hawes_

The kiss, when it came, was a beautiful moment. It was out on a call, in the middle of the beautiful African bush, with no worries whatsoever. There weren't any animals to tend to because, well, Alice was that amazing she'd moved the herd of Zebra's easily enough. There weren't any interruptions, because who would be wandering around on Leopards Den property- in the bush? It was just Danny and Alice.

It was soft. Sweet. Slow. It was everything that he had ever wanted. It was all the things that he had wished for when he lay awake at night, staring up at his ceiling thinking about her. It was all the things that she had dreamed of when he was there in her dreams. It was perfect. It was them.

It was Danny wrapping his arms around her waist gently. It was Alice wrapping her arms around his neck slowly. It was the sun shining down on them, it's powerful beams surrounding them, reflecting on the nearby water hole and causing small rainbow colours to ripple in the water.

It was everything unspoken, put into that kiss. It was all the ways they had tried to tell each other, explained. It was everything they felt, all in that one moment.

It was Alice pulling away to stare up at him questioningly. It was Danny not being able to say a word. It was Alice forgetting to breathe. It was Danny feeling dizzy in the head. It was Alice wrapping her arms tight around his neck. It was Danny pulling her closer. It was their lips locking for the second time, in perfect syncronisation.

And it was bloody amazing.


	16. Reason Sixteen: You understand

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You  
Reason Sixteen: You understand  
**___'Things you can't see must exist. How else do you explain love? You believe in it, everyone does, and at some point everybodys in love. It's this weird, warm feeling that you get, that you can't explain- and when you're in love... you just **know.'**  
__- My RS teacher the other day, when somebody said that God can't exist because you can't see him. It inspired me tbh._

"What are we doing here, Alice?" He murmured.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, staring up at him through her long, dark eyelashes.

Danny slumped down further in his chair awkwardly, staring at desk in the animal hospital. It was just him and Alice and the words he had been burning to say for days now. Because he really had no idea what was going on. Between him and Alice. "Well, what is going on between... you know." He gestured vaguely between the pair of them.

Alice was suprised that she wan't sweating buckets. She had grown more... cockier around Danny, just to hide the fact that she really could not believe the fact that her and Danny were... well what were they? They hadn't really discussed it. So she had no idea what she was supposed to say in response to that. Alice fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair, looking around, never looking Danny in the eyes.

"I dunno." She replied eventually, quietly.

Danny leaned forward, trying to catch her eye, "Well, if you don't know. I don't know."

Alice rolled her eyes, "How cliche."

Danny shrugged, "It's true though."

With a moment of courage, Alice met his eyes, and asked, "What do you think is going on here, Danny?" She asked, a challenge both in her eyes and her words.

Danny stared back, "I think... that, I am currently within the same room as the most beautiful woman in the world." Alice blushed bright red, and looked down, trying to hide behind her glossy black hair. Danny leaned forward even more, nearly falling off his chair now, and took Alice's hands, "And I think that we're really, really, close friends."

"Friends?" Alice repeated, raising an eyebrow, an electric current running through her.

"Friends with... priveleges." He whispered the last word, and captured her lips with his own, in the very much slow and sweet way they had with their first kiss.

"Priveleges." Alice murmured between their kisses.

"Mhm, priveleges." Danny agreed in a mumble, capturing her lips once again.

Both hoped it was something more.


	17. Reason Seventeen: You love me, too

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You**  
**Reason Seventeen: You love me, too.**

_'Matthew just came out and said 'I love you' in the rain one day, and I thought 'Oh dear, here we go'. But it all worked out okay in the end.'_  
_- Keeley Hawes._

_"I think that this... whatever this is, should end."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Whatever is going on between us is... something's missing. We don't even know what we're doing."_

_"Alice-"_

_"Danny, please. I hope we'll still be friends. Good friends. That's okay, yeah?"_

_"...If it's what you want."_

Danny sat on the steps of the veranda, head in his hands, his head spinning with his latest conversation with Alice. They'd been fine, sitting out on the veranda alone whilst everyone was in bed, hands clasped together, her head resting upon his shoulder. He didn't know why she had come out with it. She seemed to think when she was near the moon. She had last time. It was a full moon. He'd liked those. And then this had happened.

She'd only walked away barely two seconds ago. He should go after her, tell her that he knew what was missing.

_Go! _His mind screamed.

And for once, he listened.

He caught her wrist, he turned her towards him, he pulled her back out into the moonlight. He stared at her questioning, startled face. So, so beautiful, illuminated by the moonlight. Her eyes looked like huge, round dark sapphire pools. Those eyes, he had never seen anything like them before. They were so unique.

"You look beautiful in the moonlight." He whispered.

Alice blushed, "Danny-"

He shook his head, squeezing her hands, "No, don't."

She stopped, looking at him curiously.

He took a deep breath, "I'm a lot of things, Alice. I'm a coward, for one. I've never been able to tell you how I feel. And I... I'm stubborn, and pigheaded, and obnoxious and-"

Alice giggled, "Alright, Danny, I get it."

He nodded, his face solemn. "But one thing that I'm _not _Alice Collins, is a man who will let you walk away without telling you that..." He paused, seeing her eyes widened. His heart hammered wildly with fear, adrenaline running through his veins, he was going to bottle out, he knew it, he was a coward...

But he persisted with the internal struggle in his head. And eventually he lowered his mouth to hers, pausing just before he kissed her to whisper: "I love you."

**A/N: Peeps on the forum know why I'm hardly around anymore. Oh, but also my muse for writing seems to have disappeared. So, yeah, that don't help. This took me so long to write and I'm really unhappy with it.**


	18. Reason Eighteen: You're sweet

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You**  
**Reason Eighteen: You're Sweet**

_'You're nothing short of my everything.'_

_I've been doing these in the main-point of Danny really, with his reasons for Alice, but this one is a reason for Alice loving Danny because it popped in my head during Textiles(I was dreaming) and I thought it was a sweet scene and couldn't resist writing it. Did I mention that my muse seems to be slowly coming back? I don't care whether it means whether I'm writing on my mums computer anymore, I just ignore everything she comments on. I'm quite happy with this (without sounding snobby there) so let me know if you like it too!_

Several weeks passed, and for the first time in her life Alice Collins felt like she was floating through heaven. She had the man of her dreams, her perfect daughter, her dream job and finally felt like she actually had a _family. _Many people would turn their nose up at the prospect of having someone like Dupe in her family, but he was great and every bit important to her as he was to Danny.

They had all found out about her and Danny a few days ago, Alice had broke it gently to Charlotte first, scared of her daughters reaction. Danny had told her how he understood, that he knew that she would put her daughter before anything and that he felt the same way about Liv, Evan and Rosie too, despite the strong feelings that they had for each other. Which was also known as love.

All the kids had reacted great to the news. Rosie had literally let out a girlish squeal over the phone, Liv and Evan had simply grinned like chesire cats and hugged them both, and Charlotte? Charlotte's reaction was the best of all. She had acted the most mature out of the whole situation. And with a serious expression on her face she had turned to Danny and said, "Don't hurt my Mum!" To which Danny had nodded, unable to speak, temporarily speechless due to little Charlotte. Charlotte had seemed happy with that, stuck out her hand for Danny to shake, kissed her Mum on the cheek and skipped off before either of them were able to say anything.

A day later, Danny and Alice had told Dupe, Caroline, Georgina and Nomsa. Well they hadn't exactly told them so to speak, they had just been very uncareful to where to have their private moments...

Alice started as she heard the door open behind her- _their _door, as she sat on _their _bed and brushed her hair whilst looking in _their _mirror, and was jolted from her reverie. Looking in the mirror, she saw Danny smile sheepishly at her, their eyes locking through the mirror. He sat down on the bed behind her, positioning himself so his legs were on either side of her, her chest to his back. He took the brush from her hand with deliberately slow and gentle movements, and then began to gently brush her silky black hair.

Their eyes were still locked, the gaze never breaking. Alice counted at least seven different shades of green in Danny's eyes, searching his eyes for some kind of emotion to prove his suddenly sweet mood, unlike his one earlier where he had been rushing around at god-knows-what hour in the morning when he realised "he had to do something". She couldn't find anything in his eyes beside love. This alone made a slow fire burn through her body, tingling her fingertips and leaving her with butterflies.

Once Danny was done brushing her hair, he placed the brush gently on the bed beside them, still not breaking eye contact with her, neither saying a word as he wrapped his arms around her, hands settling on her stomach. It was only then that he broke the eye contact and the silence, by pressing a tender kiss to her neck and whispering in her hair, "Love you."

She leaned back into his embrace, her eyes closing as she thought of nothing but him, "Love you too." She murmured quietly, words that would never explain how much she felt for him but were the only she could use.

"Forever and a day." He whispered, smiling.

Alice felt one lone salty tear slip from her eye in happiness, her hands settling on top of his on her stomach and squeezing his hands lightly, "Always."

And underneath their hands, a tiny new life grows slowly, quietly into existence.


	19. Reason Nineteen: You Listen

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You**  
**Reason Nineteen: You Listen**

_'The spaces between your fingers were created so that another's could fill them in.'_

_This is another reason for Alice loving Danny, even though I wanted this fic to be Danny's reasons for Alice. But again, I couldn't resist when this popped into my head! Also, you may have noticed I've deleted "Sarah Trevanion, Guardian Angel" on the basis that I know I won't write anymore cause I had written about 7000 words for the first 15 minutes of an episode... I just could NOT carry on. Sorry about that! If anyone cares:') _

_Again, please let me know what you think?_

Alice had her doubts, just like anyone. Of course at first she hadn't any. The news that she was pregnant had caused so much happiness to bubble up inside her she hadn't been scared at all when she had told Danny, and had practically tackled him and told him. But now, she was beginning to have her doubts. As Alice smoothed her grey pajama top over her stomach, she noticed the tiniest of bumps growing. Of course, you were only able to see it if you looked closely, but it was still there. She lay her hands on her stomach, not quite still accepting that there was a life form growing inside her. She had been like this when she had been pregnant with Charlotte, too.

She had been on her own then, but this time she had Danny, and the rest of Leopards Den, looking out for her. Maybe that was why it seemed so surreal. She still hadn't accepted the fact that she was loved. Because she was so used to not being so. So used to it being just her and Charlotte, mother and daughter. And everything was so different now.

Of course she was scared. Scared that something would go wrong. That Danny would realise what a mess she was and would her whole world would fall apart, and then she'd be trying to raise both Charlotte and his baby.

Alice stopped her train of thought and squeezed her eyes shut, firmly telling herself nothing like that would ever happen.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked, who was laying across the bed, gazing at her curiously.

Alice sighed and sat down next to him on the bed, he sat himself up. Danny noticed that she looked a little distant, he could tell it in her eyes, he guessed that she had been thinking deeply. She always acted distant after thinking.

Alice turned to him and grabbed his hands, staring directly into his eyes, "Promise me you'll always be there." She said quietly.

"Hey," He murmured softly as she began to cry softly, and he pulled one of his hands from her tight grasp to brush the tears away, "Of course I will, I'll always be here for you. What brought this on?"

Alice shook her head, trying to shrug it off, "Nothing, I just... needed to know."

"Tell me." Danny insisted, cupping her face in his hands gently, "I hate seeing you upset."

Alice placed one of her hands over his, "I just..." She began quietly, "I keep expecting something to happen, something bad. I've never been so happy in my life and I'm just waiting for it to all come tumbling down any moment!" She told him tearfully, "That you'll realise how messed up I am, that you'll find someone better than me, that I'll be all alone again and that thought is horrible Danny, horrible!"

Danny was quiet for a long time and she feared that she had said the wrong thing, that maybe she had made him angry by saying such things or maybe he had nothing to say because he thought something like that would happen, too. He stroked her blotchy cheeks as she stopped, silent as he brushed the tears away and she hiccuped. He smiled at her gently and tucked a stray strand of her long black hair behind her ear tenderly.

"I have those doubts, too, Alice." He told her honestly, "I think that everyone does. At some point they do, anyway. Though I would never understand why you think that." He murmured, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, "Alice, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me." He declared, "And I'm never going anywhere."

Alice wrapped her arms around his shoulders, tears falling thickly, burying her face in his neck. He held her tightly, comforting her. She knew that she was being stupid. Of course she knew that Danny wasn't going to go anywhere, he wasn't like that. It was just that she was so used to it, being alone, being let down, and what with all the hormones raging inside her now, it was all jumbled up in her and making her think too much. She was so grateful that Danny hadn't completely flown off the handle, offended that she would think of him like that. Alice was so grateful that she had Danny.

She turned her head slightly so she could whisper softly into his ear, "I love you."


	20. Reason Twenty: You're You

**Twenty Reasons Why I Love You**

**Reason Twenty: You're You.**

_'Love is like the sun coming out of the clouds and warming your soul' _

_So here we come to the last chapter! I've really enjoyed writing these; they're much different to my usual angst! Oh I apologize for poor grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm writing this on my blackberry. Anyway. Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read and review, even with my dodgy update times. You are all bloody brilliant, and I cannot explain how happy you make me when you review; I'd say I love you but that's creepy ;) _

_Thank you. _

Alice looked out at the view of Leopards Den from the very peak of the hill. The fountain was running, the members of Leopards Den were all outside, she could spot Hamley roaming around outside, and the bush that stretched for miles and miles, seemingly neverending, behind it. It was picturesque.

She sat down gingerly beside Danny, careful not to sit on any rocks, and also moving awkwardly because of her seven months gone bump. Danny took her hand, helping her sit, grinning up at her. Once she'd manouevered herself to the floor she rest her head on Danny's shoulder, his arm wrapped protectively

"Look at it all Alice." He said softly, "Look at everything you've achieved."

She frowned, "Me?"

He looked down at her, smiling. He loved her confused face, it was so cute, and the fact that she seemed to have that wonderful pregnant woman glow about her made her even more perfect. Danny still had trouble accepting the fact that she loved him, but he wasn't complaining. He had the most wonderful woman in his arms right now, and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"Yes, you." He said, "Look at how alive it all is. It was never like this before you came. You brought life with you, Alice. This energy that we never had before. Its you that got Leopards Den up and running, we weren't anything until you came alone. I wasn't anything." He admitted softly.

Alice's heart melted"I was nothing before this place, before you."

Danny pulled a small black box from his pocket suddenly, and handed it to her. She stared at it, shocked, heart hammering with the idea of what may be concealed within the small box.

"I love you, Alice Collins. That's all I know. Will you marry me?" Danny asked her softly.

Alice opened the box, her heart stopping and her eyes widening as the most stunning ring was revealed. It was simple, a silver band with diamond-shaped sapphires, the same shade of her eyes, and small writing engraved on the inside of it. Just one simple word. 'Danice'.

Alice was beyond words, tears falling from her eyes as she looked up at Danny and nodded. Danny smiled at her. He eased the ring from the box and slowly pushed it onto her marriage finger. It fit perfectly. He looked up at her face, she had such a look of shocked happiness on her face, happy tears trickling from her beautiful blue eyes. She had never looked so gorgeous.

Alice twiddled her fingers, admiring the way the stones twinkled in the african sunlight, so many emotions consuming her. Suddenly, she launched herself at Danny, her arms locking around his neck, her lips crashing with his. Because actions spoke louder than words. And she would never be able to explain how happy she felt in that moment.

"I love you."

-(x)-

Some time later, after many hugs, kisses and 'I love you's, Danny Trevanion and soon-to-be Alice Trevanion linked hands and headed back towards the jeep.

Just before she climbed in, Alice paused and turned to savour one last look at Leopards Den from the very place she had become engaged.

Her long black hair danced in the gentle breeze and the grass tickled her feet, her sapphire blue eyes taking in the view of Leopards Den all over again. She inhaled deeply, fresh air filling her lungs, thinking about everything she had achieved here, how far she had come.

_And she smiled. _


End file.
